


The Wilder

by hotleafjuice



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 01:46:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10294658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotleafjuice/pseuds/hotleafjuice
Summary: Just a few snippets of an alternative Inquisitor





	1. The Prisoner

Cullen had to duck slightly to enter the small cell beneath the Chantry. Despite the chaos outside, Cassandra demanded to see him this instant, and it wasn’t wise to keep the Seeker waiting. She was there with Leliana and two guards. Cassandra’s expression was darker than usual. “Ah, Commander, perhaps you can provide us an answer.”

He nodded absently as he studied the prisoner. She was dressed strangely in leathers and furs. She wore numerous pieces of jewelry made of bones, beads, hammered copper, and various stones. Her black hair was braided back from her face by ribbons made of woven reeds. Vine tattoos curved along her neck, up over her jawline, sweeping under her eyes, and disappearing into her hairline at her temples. The dark green markings contrasted with dark brown skin.

Green light flared up at left hand, flickering and sputtering until dying down.

“She’s Chasind,” Cullen murmured, providing the answer to Cassandra’s unasked question.

Leliana looked at Cassandra out of the corner of her eye.

“So I’ve heard,” she ground out. Her fingers tapped against the hilt of her sword.

He took a couple of steps back. “Wilder barbarians from the south. Many of the tribes had to come up from the Korcari Wilds because of the Blight.”

Cassandra slammed the cell door closed, and the prisoner didn’t even stir. “She’ll have a lot to answer for when she awakens. Until then, I want a constant guard.” She left on the turn of her heel.

“Do you really think she did this?”

Leliana’s expression tightened. “I… don’t know.”

 

***

Varric remembered Hawke mentioning the Chasind a few times, but he didn’t know any more about them than anyone else. She was very tall though, and she looked as though she hadn’t smiled in a long, long time. The Seeker was obviously furious that the Wilder was a mage. And Solas was very curious about Chasind magic, though it was difficult to pry more a couple of words at a time from her. She wanted to help though, and that was the important thing.

It took until they reached what was left of the Temple of Sacred Ashes for Varric to realize that he didn’t know his fellow prisoner’s name. He asked, and she turned her bright gold eyes on him. She had a heavy gaze, and after a moment, when he was certain that she wasn’t going to answer his question, she replied, “Amara.”

The small group descended into the valley, and Varric watched Amara flex her left hand over and over again. Green sparks spit out from the mark, reacting to a rift being so close. He couldn’t tell if she was in pain, and even if she were, she would probably say nothing.   
  



	2. The Introduction

“You are… Chasind?”

Amara nodded politely to Josephine. “ _ Ar Cinneadh O'Chasind _ .”

“I’m afraid that I don’t know anything about your people, Mistress Amara.”

“We are the barbarian tribes from the south,” she replied drily. “Also, primitive, heretics, and thieves.” She cut her eyes at the others in the room. Cullen lowered his gaze with a sigh. Cassandra frowned, and Leliana appeared indifferent. “And of course, we steal babies and eat the hearts of our enemies. You’ll have a hard time convincing anyone that I am the herald of  _ your _ Maker.”

Josephine cleared her throat. “Surely, no one is saying these things.”

“The Chasind are a misunderstood people,” Leilana cut in gently. “They keep to themselves and have their own ways. Unfortunately, they have a negative reputation born of ignorance.”

Cassandra rubbed the bridge of her nose, suddenly very weary. “You being a hedge-mage only complicates matters. Especially with the Chantry.”

“I don’t care. I said that I would help with the breach. Isn’t that enough?”

“But the Circles--”

“Are your prisons. I have no desire to submit to the teachings of  _ your _ mages. To learn watered down schools of magic that first have to be approved by those that think they should control magic and all those that practice it.” Amara turned to Cassandra. “I’m the granddaughter of my tribe’s shaman. I know my power. My people have been mired in magic for ages long before any Chantry.”

Cullen sighed. “Amara…”

“And I’m definitely not interested in  _ your _ opinion, grasslander.”

“We can revisit this topic at a later time,” Josephine said, her head bent over her writing board.

 

***

Amara sat cross-legged on the bank of Haven’s frozen lake. She had piles of elfroot on one side, and she was working on grinding them down into a fine powder. She barely looked up when Sera plopped down beside her.

“Why’re you sittin’ out in the cold?”

“It’s peaceful. I don’t have people in my face telling me what I should and should not be.”

“Tell’em to stuff it. They don’t know you.” She picked up a sprig of elfroot, twirling it between her fingers.

“They don’t want to know me.” She shrugged. “If it wasn’t for this mark, I wouldn’t even be here.”

“Yeah, but now you have to fix a war and close a hole in the sky.”

She sighed. “So, I do. Also, I’m avoiding Vivienne.” She carefully poured the ground elfroot into a large jar sitting in front of her. “She is a powerful and intelligent woman, but I’m not from her world. My magic isn’t hers to dictate. I’m no Circle mage. I won’t undergo a Harrowing to prove myself to anyone.”

Sera leaned back on her elbows. “Just be you, yeah. Can’t do anything else.”


	3. The Protector

“We have to fall back!” Cassandra held up her shield, blocking a spray of fire. The Venatori encampment was vastly larger than they realized. Varric grunted in agreement, his arms shaking from holding his crossbow for so long.

The Iron Bull’s roar echoed off the canyon walls, the sweep of his great-sword cutting down two Venatori warriors. “Getting overwhelmed here!” He kicked a man in the chest, sending him crashing into several others.

Varric drew another bolt, and he was starting to fear running out. “Where’s the Inquisitor?” As if to answer his question, a bolt of raw spirit energy flew by him, hitting one of the mages in the face; he went down screaming.

The small group slowly retreated with what looked like a small army bearing down on them. Amara tried to keep her barriers in place, but it was difficult to manage with multiple people. A burst of electricity shattered the barrier around Varric, and she couldn’t form another before he went down with an arrow in the shoulder.

Amara breathed in deeply, feeling the residual and ambient magic heavy in the air. Her eyes closed, and the image of Varric falling played over and over in the her mind’s eye. She let go of herself, flooding her body with the Fade.

Cassandra jumped back when a blast of dark blue magic disintegrated a Venatori mage. A wave of power surged around them, and it gave Cassandra a moment to get to Varric, who was very much alive and already complaining. Bull was leaning against his sword, breathing heavily, and bleeding from a few shallow cuts.

Amara stepped in front of them, her body blazing with magic. Blue lines, the same color as lyrium, shot across her skin; the effect made her look like cracked glass. Her staff fell from her shaking hands, and her eyes burned with light.

It wasn’t much of a fight from that point on as their enemies crumbled into ash. Scorch marks blackened the stone walls, and there were only shadows where the Venatori once stood.

Cassandra dragged Varric back, her shield coming up around them both. Amara turned to them, and a chorus of voices came from her mouth, “Do not fear me. I am the Aegis.”

Bull’s expression hardened. He never expected the Inquisitor to become an abomination. His muscles burned as he hefted his weapon. “Damnit, boss.”

The air went still, and for a second everything around them was silent. The light and magic vanished like smoke. Amara’s body shook violently. She tried to take a step forward, but she fell unconscious in the sand.

 

***

Amara woke back at camp, and the glow of the lanterns in her tent were comforting. She tried to push herself up, but a pair of gentle hands held her in place. Dorian’s face came into view. “There you are. Gave us quite a fright, you know.” He huffed, and the bluster covered up how worried he was. “I think I might have gotten a gray hair.”

“Where…” she croaked, and Dorian gave her water.

“The others are fine. Varric’s wound wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

Their conversation was cut short by Cassandra storming into the tent. “Inquisitor.” She spat out the word like a curse. Her hand was on her sword. “What have you done?”

With Dorian’s help, Amara sat up. Her body was weak, and she felt wrung out. “I save our lives.” She cleared her throat.

“You’re… an… you’re….” She growled. “You let a demon…”

Amara scowled. “No. I didn’t. There was no demon, Seeker.” Her hands smoothed along her thighs. She didn’t feel quite real yet.

“Do not lie to me, witch.”

“It was an Aegis, a spirit of protection.” Her breath shuddered. Dorian looked between the both of them with a frown.

“You’re possessed.”

“That implies I’m a permanent host to a being of the Fade.” She rubbed her eyes. “I was… a conduit. I let the spirit in then I let it go.”

“Remarkable,” Dorian said, fascinated.

“Ancient magics passed down for over a thousand years.” Amara sighed. “Your mages don’t learn such things. They learn to fear what lies beyond. And that fear twists them, and spirits become demons, and the Fade becomes a terrifying place.” She looked up at Cassandra. “If you plan on murdering me, do it now so that I can rest.”

Dorian stood, his body angled to shield his friend. Cassandra looked between the two of them. She knew that if she struck down Amara, there would be no one to close the rifts. The Seeker stormed out with the same intensity that she entered.

“Gods, save me.” Amara dropped gracelessly onto her back.

“You will… be alright?”

She smiled weakly. “Yeah. Just need to regain my strength.”


End file.
